Full Answer
In the year 1955, the United States minimum wage was $0.75. This is equivalent to $7.83 in 2022 dollars. Note: We determine the value of a dollar using the Consumer Price Index from December of the previous year. Has minimum wage kept up with increases in the cost of living?
In the United States... Minimum wage increased from 75¢ to $1.00 per hour in 1956. Source: U.S. Department of Labor In 1952, only 43% of the labor force were high school graduates. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
1938: After a legislative struggle, Congress passes the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes a federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour, and the bill is signed into law by President Roosevelt.
The minimum for workers newly subject to the Act was set at $1.00 an hour effective September 1961, $1.15 an hour in September 1964, and $1.25 an hour in September 1965.
The value of the dollarValue of the minimum wageValue of the minimum wageYearCurrent dollarsCurrent dollars1955$0.75$7.2519561.007.2519571.007.2525 more rows
Minimum hourly wage of workers in jobs first covered byEffective Date1938 Act 11961 Amendments 2Jan 25, 1950$0.75Mar 1, 1956$1.00Sep 3, 1961$1.15$1.00Sep 3, 1963$1.2525 more rows
Average family income in 1950 was $3,300, or $200 higher than in 1949, according to estimates issued today by Roy V. Peel, Director, Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.
$8.58The current $7.25 federal minimum wage is lower than it was in 1956 at $8.58, adjusted for inflation.
In addition, a brief arti- cle in the July 1950 issue provided 1949 data for the first time for dentists and lawyers. Physicians whose major source of medical income was from independent practice averaged $11,858, whereas sal- aried physicians—excluding interns and residents—averaged $8/272.
Increased wage rates together with greater regularity of employment in 1955 largely accounted ror this substantial rise. Among women, the average (median) income in 1955 was $1,100, about the same as it had been in the preceding three years.
Average (median) family income in the United States was still rising in 1956, according to estimates, released today by the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce. The average income of all families was estimated at $4,800, or about 8 percent higher than in 1955.
For all persons 14 years old and over receiving any money income, the median (average) income was estimated at $2,3001 in 1954. The average income of men, which had been rising steadily between 1945 and 1953, leveled off at $3,200 in 1953 and 1954. Between 1952 and 1953, a gain of about $100 had been recorded.
1950-1956. The federal minimum wage was raised to $0.75 an hour, effective January 25, 1950. It remained the same until March 1, 1956. In today's dollars, $0.75 in 1954 is equal to $7.19.
For the country as a whole, the average (median) income of families in 1960 was $5,600; but, for families headed by persons 65 years and over, the average was only $2,900, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.
$1.25 an hourThe minimum for workers newly subject to the Act was set at $1.00 an hour effective September 1961, $1.15 an hour in September 1964, and $1.25 an hour in September 1965.
$3,532.36Indexing yearly incomeYearWage Index1953$3,139.441956$3,532.361959$3,855.801962$4,291.4019 more rows
Chart from the U.S. Dept of Labor shows the first federal minimum wage law enacted in 1938 (25 cents), and all subsequent increases through 2009. By contrast, certain states enacted minimum wage laws as far back as the 1910s. See also this history of state minimum wage laws from 1912-1958.
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the average earnings in 1957 for year-round, full time workers over the age of 14 was $4713 for men and $3008 for women. Source: Table 1, page 25. Federal Minimum Wage chart, 1938-2009.
Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Wage Survey. It lists wages and salaries for many occupations, including bookkeeper, accounting clerk, carpenter, crane operator, office boy, office girl, secretary, stenographer, switchboard operator, typist, draftsman, nurse, electrician, engineer, fireman, machinist, mechanic, millwright, painter, pipe fitter, plumber, elevator operator, guard , janitor, truck driver, watchman and more.
1952 Handbook of facts on women workers. The chapter " Women's income, wages, and salaries " (p.30-59) is filled with data on women's earnings in 1950-1952: Income of women (p.30-34) by year (1944, 1947, 1949, 1950), age group, family relationship, and occupation.
October 1958 Occupational Wage Survey (Bulletin 1240-4) October 1959 Occupational Wage Survey (Bulletin 1265-5) Average weekly and hourly earnings for employees in manufacturing jobs, for each year from 1950-1959 provided in Payroll progress in Mississippi, 1939-1959; a study of wage and salary employment.
Site has nearly 800 scanned restaurant menus from the 1950-1959 decade. This is not a government resource but it can be useful for spot-checking prices for specific food or beverages at restaurants.
One-page table shows 80 years of average retail prices for bread, milk, eggs and other common food items. See page 193 of this source for detail on how the data was collected.
History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law. Adapted from Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Standards Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1988 Report to the Congress under Section 4 (d) (1) of the FLSA. Early in the administration of the FLSA, it became apparent that application of the statutory minimum wage was likely to produce undesirable effects ...
In 1949, the minimum wage was raised from 40 cents an hour to 75 cents an hour for all workers and minimum wage coverage was expanded to include workers in the air transport industry. The 1949 amendments also eliminated industry committees except in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A specific section was added granting the Wage and Hour Administrator in the U.S. Department of Labor authorization to control the incidence of exploitative industrial homework. A 1955 amendment increased the minimum wage to $1.00 an hour with no changes in coverage.
Specifically, these amendments permit State and local governments to compensate their employees for overtime hours worked with compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, at a rate of 1 1/2 hours for each hour of overtime worked.
The 1966 amendments extended the fulltime student certification program to covered agricultural employers and to institutions of higher learning. In 1974, Congress included under the FLSA all no supervisory employees of Federal, State, and local governments and many domestic workers. (Subsequently, in 1976, in National League of Cities v.
Parity with nonfarm workers was reached at $2.30 with the 1977 amendments. The 1977 amendments, by eliminating the separate lower minimum for large agricultural employers (although retaining the overtime exemption), set a new uniform wage schedule for all covered workers.
The minimum wage went to $1.00 an hour effective February 1967 for newly covered nonfarm workers, $1.15 in February 1968, $1.30 in February 1969, $1.45 in February 1970, and $1.60 in February 1971.
to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
Chart from the U.S. Dept of Labor shows the first federal minimum wage law enacted in 1938 (25 cents), and all subsequent increases through 2009. By contrast, certain states enacted minimum wage laws as far back as the 1910s. See also this history of state minimum wage laws from 1912-1958.
The states of CA, CT, MA, NH, ND, RI, WA, WI and Puerto Rico had minimum wage laws in 1949 that covered specified types of workers in particular occupations. The chart in this source tells minimum wages for each.
This Congressional hearing examined the national wage situation in 1943/44 to determine a minimum hourly rate below which would be considered substandard. It contains hours and earnings for a number of industries and locations as well as retail prices and costs of living.
Milk cost an average of 26¢ per half gallon in 1940. Source: U.S. BLS
This wedding ensemble cost $14.98 in 1941.
Stenographers working for the city of St. Louis earned $0.75/hour in 1944.
For example, a dollar earned in 2016 had the same buying power as 4 cents in 1913. Conversely, a dollar earned in 1913 had the same buying power as $24.24 in the year 2016.
Minimum Wage in America: A Timeline. Since 1938, the U.S. federal government has established that workers are entitled to a base hourly wage. Which workers receive that minimum—and how much—has remained a political issue. Since 1938, the U.S. federal government has established that workers are entitled to a base hourly wage.
1938: After a legislative struggle, Congress passes the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes a federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour, and the bill is signed into law by President Roosevelt.
The cotton industry is the first to enact such a code, which sets a minimum weekly wage of $13 in northern states and $12 in the south, in addition to abolishing child labor. Roosevelt also pushes employers to sign the “President’s Reemployment Agreement,” a pledge to offer a $12 to $15 weekly wage for 35 to 40 hours of labor.
1894: New Zealand enacts the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, becoming the first nation in the world in which the government sets minimum wages for workers. The law also bans both worker strikes and lockouts by employers.
Since the first federal minimum wage was set in 1938, it has been raised 22 times by 12 different presidents. The history of the federal minimum wage is one of political struggle and labor conflict, and it actually begins in Europe, at least a century before the law was passed in the United States. Here are some of highlights.
One reason that the federal minimum wage provokes continuing controversy is that it doesn’t automatically adjust to the rising cost of living. “This means it is completely dependent upon political negotiations, and its level depended upon which forces had power,” explains Stephanie Luce, the chairperson and a professor in the School of Labor and Urban Studies at City University of New York.
2019: Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C. maintain higher minimum wages than the federal standard as of 2019, with eight states automatically increasing wages based on the cost of living.
Minimum wage refers to the absolute lowest rate of pay that employers may legally compensate their employees. This wage is established through the federal minimum wage rate law, but each state maintains its own minimum wage rate law as well. What this means is that while no state can legally allow employers to pay their employees less than ...
If an employer fails to pay minimum wage to an employee who is legally entitled to that payment, they may face the following consequences: Fines ranging from $100 to $10,000; A $1,100 civil penalty per occurrence for willful or repeat violators;
Federal wage law applies to all employers across the United States. If you are employed in a state or city that maintains its own wage laws, your employer should pay whichever law is most generous to their employees. A local minimum wage ordinance is what dictates a city’s established minimum wage rate, which can differ from both ...
Additionally, the federal minimum wage has not been raised to meet the needs of the modern employee. It is important to note that ...
As for the factors involved in calculating minimum wage rate laws, typically the following will be considered: The current and past years of inflation and the costs of basic goods such as food, clothing, water, and medications; Other factors including wage information research, cost of housing, etc.
The “training wage” of $4.25 per hour may apply to younger workers, such as those below 20 years of age, for the first three months or ninety days of their employment;
Jail time, ranging from six months to one year; Injunctions from the Department of Labor; Liability to the employee for the unpaid wages and/or overtime compensation; Liability for legal fees associated with failing to pay minimum wage; and/or. Liquidated damages, which may be equal to back pay, when applicable.